Dr. Milton Margoles v. Alida Johns and the Journal Corporation

The trial court denied the appellant’s Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b) motion, which sought to vacate a judgment of dismissal. 1 This appeal presents the question whether a trial court judge’s considered refusal to recuse himself for alleged partiality, bias, or the appearance thereof, violates a party’s right to due process of law and thereby renders any judgment of the trial court void.

The facts in this matter are fully laid out in the trial court’s thorough Decision and Order of February 25, 1981, which is appended below. That decision denied the motion on the ground that the appellant had failed to…